Civic Engagement Fellow

About Us

The CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance (CUNY ISLG) is a good governance think-and-do tank dedicated to improving government effectiveness and efficiency. Established in 2013, CUNY ISLG works with state and local governments, higher education, public institutions and community-based organizations (CBOs) across 60+ jurisdictions in the U.S. Relevant to this opportunity, CUNY ISLG’s work includes designing and implementing Fellowship programs for elected officials and legislative Chiefs of Staff, in addition to creating learning spaces for CUNY students and offering training and technical assistance (TTA) and grantee management services to CBOs. For more information about ISLG, please visit: https://islg.cuny.edu/

Our Goals for Diversity and Inclusion

We strive to foster an office environment and an approach to work that welcomes and respects different perspectives, backgrounds, and life experiences. We are working towards our goal of recruiting and retaining staff, Fellows, interns, and advisory group members who are diverse in terms of race, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, religion, veteran status, socioeconomic status, disability, and justice system involvement.

About the Civic Engagement Fellowship

The Campaign Finance Board (CFB) is a nonpartisan, independent city agency that empowers New Yorkers to make a greater impact on their elections. CFB’s mission is to make New York City’s democracy more open, transparent, and equitable by eliminating barriers to participation. Through voter engagement and the matching funds program, the CFB provides access to the information and resources New Yorkers need to vote or run for office and reduces the corrupting influence of money in politics by enhancing the impact of New Yorkers’ small-dollar contributions.

To amplify its work, CFB wishes to identify, engage, and empower the next generation of civic engagement leaders and build the capacity of CBOs to inform, educate and empower voters in their communities. For this Initiative, CBOs will be based or working in Bronx Community Districts 1 through 7. CFB wishes for these leaders and CBOs to specifically build expertise around voter engagement and education. CFB’s matching fund program is specifically designed to support greater voter engagement at all points in the election cycle and empowering the next generation of civic leaders can help build that goal. To achieve this goal, CFB is partnering with CUNY ISLG on this Initiative.

This opportunity is seeking CUNY students who are entering their senior year of an undergraduate college program to participate in a pilot 2-year Civic Engagement Fellowship and work placement opportunity. Civic Engagement Fellows will participate in a 2-year professional development Fellowship offered by CFB and CUNY ISLG and will be placed at a host CBO for a 2-year work experience. Fellows will work at CBOs doing a variety of work supporting voter and community engagement. Applicants will be asked to commit to

• Full-time hours at their host CBO (up to 35 hours per week, with a portion spent in fellowship convenings at CUNY ISLG) in Summer 2025
• Part-time hours at their host CBO (up to 15 hours per week with a portion spent in fellowship convenings at CUNY ISLG) throughout their senior year and,
• Upon graduation, commit to one full-time year of employment with their host CBO.

For the first year of the Fellowship, Fellows will be Research Foundation of CUNY (RFCUNY) employees and will be eligible for RFCUNY benefits. Details regarding those benefits will be explained to candidates during the interview process as they differ depending on part time/full time schedules. During year two of the Fellowship, Fellows will either remain RFCUNY employees or may have the opportunity to become employees of their host CBOs and will be offered full time benefits, which will include health insurance. All employees, regardless of placement, will receive ongoing support and supervision from CUNY ISLG staff for the two years of their Fellowship. Compensation (salary, benefits, etc.) will be set by CUNY ISLG and is reflected in the salary information listed at the start of this document.

Other Duties

CUNY ISLG is recruiting up to 15 CUNY undergraduate students who will be entering their senior year in fall 2025 to be the inaugural Civic Engagement Fellows. The Civic Engagement Fellowship is anticipated to begin in July 2025 and go until June 2027. You must be able to commit to the full 2-year Initiative to be considered.

The Fellowship will include the following components:

• One-week “Boot Camp” – Fellows will participate in a one-week intensive training at CUNY ISLG (likely in July 2025) that will introduce them to the initiative and help match them with the CBOs where they will be employed for the next two years.
• Summer CBO Placement – After boot camp, for the remainder of summer 2025, the Fellows will be working full-time at their host CBO on civic engagement projects determined by the CBO, in consultation with CUNY ISLG and CFB.
• Monthly Fellowship Convenings – CUNY ISLG will host two-hour Fellowship convenings monthly (likely beginning in August or September 2025) covering 4 key content areas: i) Leadership Development, ii) Civic Engagement, iii) Community Development and, iv) Public Policy – all critical elements that will aid Fellows in successfully engaging communities and supporting civic engagement activities at their host CBO.
• School-year CBO Employment: During the academic year (September 2025-May 2026), Fellows will be employed by the CUNY Research Foundation to work part-time at their CBO sites while also completing their CUNY studies.
• Full-time CBO Employment: Following their graduation, Fellows will work full-time at their host CBOs for one year (June 2026-June 2027) as employees of the CUNY RF or their host CBO. They will continue to work on civic engagement projects determined by the CBO, in consultation with CUNY ISLG and CFB.

The core of this Fellowship is creating community among the Fellows and building a corps of civically engaged CUNY students to support CBOs in conducting civic engagement activities in New York City. Additionally, this Fellowship provides a year of paid employment at a community-based organization working to engage and support civic connections.

The host CBOs will be responsible for day-to-day mentorship, supervision and task management of the Fellows. Tasks that the Fellows may be responsible for include (but are not limited to):

• Researching levels of civic engagement in the community and developing strategies to increase civic engagement
• Learning about the policy priorities of the local communities where they are embedded
• Identifying barriers to civic engagement that currently exist in the community
• Organizing community meetings
• Planning and hosting community education events
• Facilitating community conversations and engaging with neighborhood residents
• Taking notes at meetings
• Providing coordination support for scheduling meetings with partners
• Engaging with elected officials and other community stakeholders
• Assisting in the preparation of materials for meetings, policy briefs, blogs and other communications
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications

We would love to hear from you, if you are/have:

• A CUNY student going into your senior year of an undergraduate college program in fall 2025, in good standing and with an expected graduation date by Summer 2026
• Able to commit to a full-time schedule of work in summer 2025, a part-time schedule (up to 15 hour a week) during the school year, and a full-time schedule from June 2026-June 2027
• Interest and/or experience in civic engagement and community-building
• Interest in working in a nonprofit Community-Based Organization
• Excellent time management skills and experience working in deadline-driven environments
• Ability to write and present in an articulate, structured, and compelling manner
• Ability to prioritize and work on a number of tasks simultaneously
• Flexibility about projects and workflow
• Passion about equitable state and local policy solutions to pressing social issues
• Experience in participatory action research and/or other community engagement approaches a plus
• Fluency in a language other than English is a plus
• Given that the CBO work will be located in the Bronx, students at a Bronx CUNY campus and/or living in or near Community Districts 1-7 are particularly encouraged to apply

CUNY ISLG is open to flexibility on the requirements above, but we would expect candidates to fit most of the items described.

How to Apply

To apply for a Fellowship, we ask that candidates submit the following materials:

1. A cover letter explaining why you are interested in the Civic Engagement Fellowship and why you are a fit for this role
2. A resume or curriculum vitae (1 page limit)
3. The contact information for 2 references (preferably professors or former supervisors of employment relating to civic engagement work)
4. Unofficial transcripts (Strongly Recommended)

All application documents must be in English and submitted in a single PDF. Please also email application documents to info@islg.cuny.edu and use the subject line “Civic Engagement Fellowship Application.”. Incomplete application packets will not be considered. If you anticipate needing any type of reasonable accommodation to apply for an employment opportunity, please contact Monica.Sanjuan@islg.cuny.edu or 646-664-3480.

The CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance and the Research Foundation of the City University of New York are an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Americans with Disabilities Act/Protected Veterans Status/ E-Verify Employer. The Research Foundation of CUNY is an equal opportunity employer firmly committed to diversity. All individuals are encouraged to apply. If you anticipate needing any type of reasonable accommodation to apply for an employment opportunity, please contact Monica.Sanjuan@islg.cuny.edu or 646-664-3480.